Sun of Shadows/Chapter 21
This is the twenty-first chapter in Sun of Shadows and the fourth in part three, Shadow. Last Words Geb stared motionlessly at the pale gray lump that lay there on Terrai's artificial coast. Everything had gone way too fast, he had no idea what had happened. One moment ago, Perry and Khya - Khya lived, he could hardly believe that either - had fought each other, now there was something else lying on the ground. Someone else. Five. He didn't have to ask Acquois, the Keeper was already moving, while none of the others dared to. As soon as they were close enough to Terrai's strip of land, Geb jumped from Acquois's back and stormed to Five and her companion. Someone followed him, he heard that by the footsteps, but he didn't turn around. He had already reached the Lightning Elmin. Did he really want to know what Perry's beam had done? No, but he had to. For Five. She was still clinging to her companion, her face hidden in his bumblebee pelt. It was hard to tell what exactly had happened, but he saw the blood pouring from not only her abdomen, but also from Buzzer's back. The beam had hit both of them hard, but they were alive: both gave off their flickering light, but not as fast as usual, but choppy and irregular. "Ani!", he exclaimed in utter despair, but that was hardly necessary, she was at his side in an instant. He helped her separate Five from Buzzer and put her on her back. At the sight of her stomach, his own almost turned, so he concentrated on her face. Five had closed her eyes and lifted the corners of her mouth into a smile, she looked almost proud. Of having saved Khya? "Five!" Now Nergal crowded beside him as well, as panicked as Geb hadn't experienced him for a long time. "How is she, Ani? Will she -" At that moment, Five opened her eyes. Even these seemed to radiate less than usual, but her usual grin was on her face when she spotted her friends. "And?", she asked in an unusually quiet voice. "How were we?" "You're such an idiot," Iris murmured, who was also with them by now. But it didn't really sound like an insult. "If so, then both of us," Five said with a glance at Buzzer. "He agreed on it." Geb noticed that Khya was standing nearby, looking at them in silence. Their eyes met and slowly, very slowly, the Shadow girl walked over to them. "You saved my life," she whispered, still stunned, while Ani did her best to somehow bandage the wound. "Let it be," Five replied... no, she said it to Ani, not to Khya. The Forest Elmin paused when she realized that. But Five continued to smile, still sounding terribly proud. Geb had to think of everything she had told them about herself, about her reason to join them. "Then this was your spark," he said with a heavy heart, but at the same time, strange as it was, he was happy for her as well. "You found it." "Looks like it," she said, and Geb thought he actually saw a hint of it in her eyes. "But... I would've never managed that without you. Thanks, guys." He bit his lip. "No problem." "But why did you do that?", Khya asked before shaking her head. She herself had come up with the answer, perhaps she also wanted to spare Five's energy. "So that Perry doesn't win, right? So that Lumeon doesn't kill Umbrath?" Five managed a nod, then grimaced in pain. Geb knew they didn't have much time left. "When we met," Iris began suddenly, her voice shaking. "You said... you said that Five isn't your full name." Five closed her eyes almost in amusement as she remembered. "Nergal said nobody cares." "No. I do," Nergal decided without hesitation. "Nothing is more important right now." "How touching," she smirked. "Thanks, Scaleface." Instead of talking, she just moved her left arm, the one with the shiny silver metal bracelet. Her eyes also led them there. Surprised, Geb realized that something was engraved on her jewelry. It was on the side of her palm so he had never noticed it before. He couldn't read, but these were numbers, not letters that stood there. And numbers he managed. "986-042-05," he read in confusion. Above were three vertical lines next to each other, below there was one. "Is that your..." He didn't want to call it name, that seemed too strange. Five no longer looked at him, but apparently into nothingness. "That's me, yeah... or was. Keep that thing, maybe you'll need it someday." "Don't you want to... keep it?", Ani asked sympathetically. "You know, when you..." "It's okay." Five's voice became so quiet Geb barely heard it. "I have a real name now after all." Her flickering stopped... and didn't return. Nobody said a word. Everyone was too busy looking down at Five's pale body that would never shine again like it had before. Its light was gone forever. Light... Geb's eyes searched for Perry and finally found him standing between them and the Keepers. He didn't move, just stared at the sight that presented itself to him. When he noticed Geb, he turned away. Geb thought of Karzelek, who had killed Alastor back then... but awful or not, that had been intentional. Perry would never have wanted Five to... Someone put a hand on his back. Surely it should have been the shoulder, but many of his friends didn't get that high. Was it Karzelek? No, it was Khya who looked at him, embarrassed but determined. "I have to clear this up now," she said. Already she pushed past him and stepped towards Perry, who followed her movements uncertainly with his eyes. But she looked straight up past him - to where the Keepers' heads were. "Lumeon!" The lion seemed to be talking to the other Keepers, he turned his head slowly in Khya's direction. "Ah. Are you done at last?" Geb could hardly believe what he heard. "Five was our friend!", he shouted before he could stop himself. "She just died! Don't you care at all?" "Why should I?", Lumeon replied indifferently. "She is - pardon, was - one of thousands of Lightning Elmen. No tribe has members as interchangeable as this." "You take that back!", Iris shouted now; surely she thought the same as Geb. Lumeon's words were exactly what Five had fought against. "No one is interchangeable, not even Lightning Elmen. No one can just replace Five like that! But of course you can't understand that if you spent all your immortal life on a deserted island." "You know who you're talking to," Aricel snapped. "Lumeon has -" "No idea of the really important things." Umbrath didn't sound amused like before, but sympathetically looked down at the friends. Geb could sense that he meant it. "Among the Shadows, we know that everyone has meaning. A story worth listening to. We are, after all," - a side glance to Khya, "- largely a voluntary part of this community." Lumeon scoffed in exasperation. "Yet Elysia despises you." "And why?", Geb dared to ask and took a few steps towards the Keepers. He himself didn't know where he took the courage from - no, this was about Five, the Shadows, all those who deserved better than these words of Lumeon. Geb was a guard, it was his vocation to stand up for others. "Because you put those thoughts into the world, didn't you?" The smile Khya gave him was worth every sacrifice. Iris, too, seemed to like his words, she insisted on contributing something herself. "It was all about being respected by the tribes. And before by the Ancient Civilization. That's why you incited them against Umbrath and his Shadows - so that you and your Elmen could be worshiped as saviors." "You're not stupid," Lumeon said dryly. "But there is nothing wrong with my actions. Light and shadow are the most fundamental opposites that exist. Light and shadow, white and black, good and evil - it's not my fault that mortals fear darkness. That they make a light to feel safe." From the corner of his eye, Geb saw something huge pass him: Sura, who dared to go all the way to Khya and now towered high beside the Shadow girl. "No," she simply said... and suddenly raised her voice. In perfect, really intimidating Kiujak, she spoke to Lumeon, her every word turning his face a bit more angry. Geb was dying to know what she was throwing at him, but only the Keepers could understand her. "She isn't insulting him if you think that." Geb winced. He had been so focused on Sura that he hadn't expected Khya's voice. "How..." "Umbrath lets me hear what he hears," she whispered to him. "With us Shadows, that works." He just nodded. "And?" "Your friend says that Lumeon is right, but the opposite can be the case as well. For example, everyone in her tribe is grateful for a little shade when the sun shines on the ice, blinding everyone." So Sura was really not insulting Lumeon, she just had the talent to give impressive speeches. No wonder she had become chief. Now Umbrath spoke, again talking more to the friends than to the Keepers. "I didn't create the Shadows to spread fear and terror. At first I was just jealous of Lumeon when he came up with the idea of forming his own beings of light... but then I realized that I could do much more. I was able to offer outcasts a new home, unlike Lumeon, who offered his magic to anyone who thought highly enough of themselves - and of him." "As if your Shadows are nothing but good-hearted outsiders," Aricel said. Umbrath scratched himself behind the ear. "No, but most of them. As far as I know, however, Lumeon has only pretentious scapegraces to offer aside from his chosen one." The lion growled. "Take that back." "It doesn't matter if it's true or not," Ani put in. "It doesn't matter which tribe you belong to. Everyone can decide for themselves what kind of person they want to be, regardless of the traits they associate with the tribes." She smiled at Khya, even back then she had heard how Geb had saved the Shadow. "Everyone deserves a chance. But it's no wonder someone feels cast out if you don't give them that chance." Umbrath looked at her gratefully before turning to Lumeon. "I didn't rise up against you at the time to claim control of Elysia. I didn't rise up at all. I just wanted to talk to you; ask you to clarify this terrible misunderstanding. It was you who attacked me - my Shadows and I just defended ourselves." "You're right," Lumeon replied... and threm himself at Umbrath with a hiss. But rats had quick reflexes and he dodged seconds before Lumeon hit the ground. "Is this what it's coming down to now?", Umbrath asked. "Another ambush on your part?" The two circled one another while Lumeon waited for Umbrath to expose a weakness. Sura signaled her friends to go back to the others to make way for the Keepers. Geb gladly followed this request and he saw that Aricel had also returned into the sky. Lumeon growled, Geb didn't just hear that in his head. "Ambush? You're a prey animal, I'm a predator. I'm following my nature." "We're Keepers, Lumeon. No ordinary animals. Otherwise you would long be in a pride in Xiro and sleep all day." Umbrath's whiskers twitched. "Oh, wait, you already do." Lumeon lunged at the rat again, but it dodged once more. Geb noticed that Umbrath wasn't trying to hurt the other Keeper, even though he had the chance. Had it been the same then, a thousand years ago? Had Umbrath just defended himself, nothing more? No matter what Geb had heard about the Keeper to this day, he was more inclined to believe him than Lumeon. He knew instinctively that he wanted Umbrath to win... but could the rat do so without fighting back? "We have to do something," Geb decided, turning to his friends. "And what?", Karzelek asked. "Should we attack Lumeon?" "If we could have handled Umbrath, we can handle Lumeon, too," Nergal said, but Sedna glared at him. "You forget that Lumeon has reinforcements." Nergal grimaced. "Do you have a better idea?" "At least we won't talk to him," Iris said. Geb didn't think that would work either. "What about Perry?", he mused aloud. "Maybe Lumeon is more likely to listen to him." Where was the boy anyway? Geb had last seen him when Sura had escorted them to safety. Sedna's eyes showed him the way: Perry was still with Sura, who allowed him to stroke her long fur. He had to be terribly disturbed by everything that had just happened, Karzelek had fared similarly. "Karzelek, Ani," the Water Elmin said. "Try and help him somehow." Geb watched as the two of them departed while Sedna stayed where she was. "Don't you want to -" "The three can manage," she replied curtly, looking around at the others. "We talk to our respective Keeper. Maybe they can bring Lumeon to reason." "All but Aricel," Nergal said, and Iris nodded in frustration. "Are you coming?", he asked her. "Fuocith won't listen to just a Half-Shadow." For a moment Iris was surprised that Nergal wanted to work with her, but she nodded. "Good luck," she said to Geb and Sedna, and went with the Fire Elm to his Keeper who, like the others, was watching the ongoing battle between Lumeon and Umbrath. "See you soon," Sedna said as well, and went to Acquois. Geb was a bit jealous because Acquois was on their side anyway and it would be easy to ask him for help. At least Terrai was a very good-natured Keeper, maybe he let Geb convince him. Geb made his way to him, trying not to get in the way of the fighters. Fortunately, the area created by Terrai was big enough for that. He had already reached the Keeper, albeit from the wrong side. So he made his way to the head of the Keeper that was so much taller than Boulder's. "Terrai?", he asked cautiously. The Keeper didn't move, keeping his eyes fixed on Lumeon and Umbrath. His thought voice sounded worried. "Oh, hello, Geb. Are you and your friends alright?" "According to the circumstances." But he was happy that Terrai had asked. "We have to end this fight... before anything happens to anyone." "I didn't expect Lumeon to go this crazy," Terrai admitted. "But if it's the only way to stop Umbrath..." "Stop him? Terrai, Umbrath hasn't done anything to anyone. Lumeon himself admitted that." Had the Keeper really not understood that yet? Or was he too used to being on Lumeon's side? Terrai hesitated. "But I can't just..." "You're not supposed to fight Lumeon," Geb assured him. "But could you ask him to stop? I know you would prefer a peaceful solution too." "You're right, little friend," Terrai said, sighing deeply. His usual humming swelled to a sound almost like a roar. Like the tonal version of an earthquake, it blared into Geb's ears - distracting Lumeon, who stopped immediately and looked at Terrai. Instead of taking the opportunity to attack him himself, Umbrath did nothing like that, but used the break to regain his strength. "What was that about?", Lumeon hissed at Terrai. "Are you on the side of the Shadows?" "On the side that sees no reason to kill Umbrath." That was Acquois, calm as ever. Sedna was perched on his head, so they too had talked to each other. "You have to admit that the conversation right now was very enlightening." Lumeon glared at him, then spun around to Fuocith. "And you? Will you also tell me to stop fighting?" "No," she replied and Lumeon's features relaxed. "You know how much I appreciate a good fight. You can solve this problem like this." Her reptile eyes narrowed to slits. "Liars and hypocrites, however, I don't appreciate. I'm sorry for you, Lumeon, but I'm on Umbrath's side." Geb was flooded with relief. Terrai, Acquois, and Fuocith had all stood up againt Lumeon's plans. And Aricel, who was still drawing wide circles over their heads? She let out a bloodcurdling scream and with outstretched claws descended straight on Sura and the others. "Watch out!", Geb and Umbrath called at the same time, but of course the rat made much bigger leaps than he did. Already it had reached the friends who still cared for Perry - and Five and Buzzer's bodies - and stood up protectively between them and Aricel. The Keeper had almost reached them, when she suddenly did nothing but rush narrowly over them so Umbrath couldn't help but look after her in surprise. Lumeon took this chance. With one huge leap he was with them and pushed Umbrath to the ground, of course with extended claws. His whole body radiated light, so Umbrath couldn't dissolve into the shadows, and Geb had the terrible feeling that everyone present knew exactly what was going to happen. He heard the shouts of the Keepers and the cries of his friends, of whom Khya's was the loudest and most desperate. And saw how Lumeon put his razor-sharp teeth around Umbrath's thin neck. An entirely not Keeperlike squeal came from their direction, then Geb saw even from this distance how Umbrath's body slackened. Lumeon had really done it, he had killed another Keeper - and Geb knew it wasn't a deception like Khya had done. Umbrath was gone. Already the Keepers started talking over one another so Geb's head was almost bursting with all the thought voices. But all of a sudden they all fell silent... when they realized that Lumeon was backing away from Umbrath's body. With a few moments of delay, Geb saw the reason: Umbrach's body dissolved into black bands of fog that shot into the sky and spread out from there in all directions. They seemed to have no end, a big part of Umbrath's body was still visible. Was this the entire bundled shadow magic that Umbrath had been keeping for all those years? Now pouring through all of Elysia, ready to flood all around it with elemental energy? Geb's eyes searched for Khya - Lumeon had said that Umbrath's death would restore the Shadows to what they used to be. So an Impure had to be with them now, an Impure with dappled red and blue skin. But nowhere could he see such a creature. Khya's painful scream showed him the way and now he was the one who couldn't suppress such a cry. Lumeon had lied, Khya wasn't an Impure again, like she had been so many years ago. But not even what he called a Shadow. She still looked like he knew her - pitch-black skin, leathery wings, dark markings - but she seemed to be in an intermediate state of her forms, as if her body didn't know whether to take shape. She was surrounded by a black, lambent aura that merged more and less with her body. But her expression was the worst, both horrified and pained. Geb didn't dare approach her. All he could give her was a look he hoped she understood: I don't know how, but we'll get you out of that. I promise. He heard Acquois's voice in his head, louder than the other Keepers. Perhaps for the first time in history, his serenity had faded and given way for something that sounded like a mixture of anger and despair. "Lumeon," he said, somehow sounding quiet and stifled despite the volume. "What have you done?" Category:Chapters Category:EE3 Chapters